Sprinter back to tracks for tests

At a media event after the brake problems became public, Bob Young, general manager for operations and maintenance at Bombardier, points to one of wheel assemblies that contains rotors that are prematurely wearing out. [U-T file]
— Nelvin C. Cepeda

At a media event after the brake problems became public, Bob Young, general manager for operations and maintenance at Bombardier, points to one of wheel assemblies that contains rotors that are prematurely wearing out. [U-T file]
— Nelvin C. Cepeda

A worker using a plasma cutting tool removes an original rotor from a Sprinter train. Photo courtesy North County Transit District.

This week, the agency hopes to install newly arrived 100g split disc rotors on one of its 12 Sprinter trains, according to a blog post by Tom Tulley, the agency’s safety chief.

The parts arrived Tuesday from Kovis, a European rail parts manufacturer, he said. Last month, transit officials said they hoped to have new parts by late April.

Despite multiple requests, the agency has yet to say how much those new rotors cost. Deborah Castillo, the agency’s spokeswoman, said on Thursday she did not have cost figures.

She said the transit agency has placed two limited orders of brake rotors, enough for only two trains.

The second order is a yet-to-arrive set of 50g split discs from Faiveley Transport, the French firm that built the trains’ original rotors.

Through testing, the agency will determine which parts are best and then purchase a full set for all 12 trains, the spokeswoman said.

Representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration and California Public Utilities Commission watched as transit agency contractors removed old rotors from a Sprinter train on Wednesday, according to Tulley’s post.

Those agencies must approve installation procedures for the new parts, Tulley added.

A 24-day testing period would follow, after which “federal, state and professional agencies” will analyze the data from those tests, the safety chief wrote.

“Testing is a lengthy process so while we have reached an important milestone in the repair process, I want to remind you it is still too soon to speculate on when the SPRINTER will be back in service,” Tulley wrote. “But we are making progress.”

Replacement charter buses have crisscrossed the region over the past four weeks, ferrying some of the thousands of commuters, college students and others who took the Sprinter.

Taxis and vans featuring “NCTD” placards will fill a service gap starting Monday for about 100 students who travel from the border of Escondido and San Marcos to California State University San Marcos, the agency said last week.